EPCOT: Walt’s Biggest Vision, Part 2

(For Part 1 of our EPCOT story, click on this link for the EPCOT blog)

In 1979, Disney embarked on their most ambitious construction project of all time, with an official opening date of October 1, 1982. The Experimental Protype Community Of Tomorrow would open exactly 11 years after the Magic Kingdom.

However, the construction timetable for the new park was formidable. Initial estimates in 1976 suggested it could take six years to build, and now Disney president Card Walker was saying they would do it in just three. The challenge was on!

Over those three years, there were more than 10,000 construction workers, 22 general contractors and 500 sub-contractors. It was the largest private construction undertaking in the US, and the final cost would be just north of $1billion. Walt’s dream was certainly not going to be short-changed.

Just to start with, the 500-acre site needed to be cleared of 54 million cubic feet of dirt before a single pylon could be driven into the ground. Then the builders could move in and the work started in earnest.

How Did They Build Epcot On Time?

Whether the construction crews would be finished by the due date was in doubt right up to the final week. By then, everyone was working round the clock, seven days a week, and with fire trucks brought in to provide enough light to work through the night.

With virtually all the extensive development completely new and original, there were numerous changes as the engineers, architects and builders worked through snags and complications, not the least of which was not tripping over each other on the hugely complex construction sites.

Disney historian Jim Korkis wrote a fascinating article about the whole situation in 2012, and three paragraphs of his story really underline the frantic pace of work:

Dick Schurrer, manager of Florida operations for the company who built the Mexico pavilion, Odyssey Restaurant, Communicore and other projects, became angered when Disney chief Dick Nunis told a reporter he didn't think the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion would be ready on time.

Schurrer said: “There was a tremendous amount of electrical work still to be done. We had long discussions with our electrical contractor and he jumped in and got the job done, and I told Dick Nunis it was the one ride that hadn't broken down. It was like that all the way from the first day. My workers, almost to a man, worked overtime for the better part of the last 15 months. Toward the end of June 1982, it was nothing but seven days a week and 12 or 14 hours a day.” Joe Harrison, senior project manager of the Inland Construction Company of Chicago (who built the Germany and Italy pavilions, plus Journey Into Imagination) recalled: “Within a month we were working seven-10s and seven-12s and the last three months it was just about around the clock. A lot of our labour force was very unproductive. We were just worn out. We had guys working 70-75 days straight without a day off. We had concrete finishers working 24 hours straight. Some of them worked 36 hours straight.”

Crews were still working frantically on things like the main fountain and much of the plumbing just hours before the official opening. But they got it done, even though the fountains had to be operated by hand when it was time for their part in the opening show.

The Grand Opening Of Epcot

EPCOT’s big public debut duly took place on October 1, as stipulated, with a series of grand celebratory events on the day itself and for several weeks afterwards as each of the World Showcase pavilions was dedicated.

The landscaping was the last element to be completed, and that alone was a Herculean task. Roughly 12,500 trees, representing 125 species, were planted, along with more than 100,000 shrubs of 250 species. There were 14 acres of Emerald Zoysia grass, and more than three acres of annual flowers planted for opening day.

As part of the opening ceremony, dancers and band members performed the specially written song “We’ve Just Begun to Dream,” while the renowned Sherman Brothers (who wrote the music for Mary Poppins, among other Disney classic) composed a song for the occasion entitled “The World Showcase March.”

During the finale, there was a US Air Force flyover and doves and sets of balloons were released. Entertainers representing countries from all over the world performed in World Showcase, with water gathered from rivers across the planet being emptied into the park’s central Fountain of Nations from ceremonial containers.

The opening day attractions were: Spaceship Earth, the Land Pavilion, Universe of Energy, World of Motion, Journey Into Imagination and Communicore in Future World; and, in World Showcase, each of the Mexico, China, Italy, Germany, Japan, France, UK, Canada and American Adventure pavilions.

EPCOT Gets Bigger

Not everything opened at the same time, however. Much as the Magic Kingdom debuted its iconic Space Mountain ride four years after the park’s opening, so EPCOT had various new elements in the years to follow, including the Horizons pavilion in 1983 and the Morocco pavilion a year later.

The Living Seas opened in 1986 after a $90million construction project, which was then the most expensive single attraction Disney had ever built. It took 22 months to complete, used 20,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1,750 tons of reinforced steel. The finished aquarium was big enough to fit Spaceship Earth inside!

An even bigger name that year was Michael Jackson, starring in the Captain EO 3-D film. Norway then completed the World Showcase line-up in 1988 and the Wonders of Life pavilion was unveiled a year later.

The 1990s saw big changes as the park refined its style and, especially, its live entertainment. Each of World of Motion and Horizons closed to make way for Test Track and Mission: Space respectively, while Universe of Energy was updated with Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Communicore was completely redesigned as Innoventions and both the International Flower & Garden and the Food & Wine Festivals made their debuts.

Arguably EPCOT’s finest moment came with the new millennium as the park unveiled its Millennium Village alongside the stunning Tapestry of Nations parade and the nightly spectacular of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, which quickly became a fan favourite.

The addition of the fab Soarin’ ride in 2005 provided The Land Pavilion with a real boost while The Seas with Nemo and Friends gave the Seas Pavilion a reboot. The Wonders of Life pavilion shut down in 2007, pending a total makeover.

EPCOT Today

No other Disney park has seen the huge turnover of attractions and shows as EPCOT has, and that process has never stopped. In the last few years, we have seen IllumiNations replaced by Harmonious (which has also now been shut down pending a new show later this year), Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure added to the France pavilion and Universe of Energy closed to make way for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

The latter is part of the complete transformation of the Future World area into three new sub-sections: World Celebration, World Discovery and World Nature. Gone are the two Innoventions plazas to make way for a new version of Communicore, with live entertainment and Disney characters, and in will come the new Journey of Water Inspired by Moana walk-through attraction.

That is all due to be unveiled later this year, along with a tribute to Walt Disney himself called Dreamers Point. There are no details yet about the new night-time show, but it seems a fair bet to expect something spectacular.

It all goes to prove one of Walt’s favourite sayings about his original Disneyland park, which is, “It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination in the world.”

And that couldn’t be truer of EPCOT, the park built in Walt’s best traditions.

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